"A daughter is a day brightener and a heart warmer."
-Author unknown
The weekend before that, Lindsey and I attended a Mother-Daughter Ballet event at church. Every year, the women's ministry hosts a mother-daughter event, but this was the first time either of us had attended. It was a beautiful performance, and now Lindsey is trying to decide if she wants to continue gymnastics/cheerleading, or if she'd like to switch to ballet. After the performance, we had a dessert reception downstairs, beautifully decorated with ballerina-inspired decor. Ken took this photo right before we left the house:
Our take-home souvenir from this event was a pretty little bookmark and a silver ballerina charm, which Lindsey plans to add to her charm bracelet she got at the Father-Daughter Valentine's Dance. After a few years of these events, she'll have it all filled up with sentimental charms. Isn't that a lovely thought?
In our daily lives, we occasionally get on each other's nerves; when dealing with a houseful of imperfect humans, that's just a reality. But we don't have to focus on those times! That's why I so cherish opportunities like these to make special memories with my girls.
In our daily lives, we occasionally get on each other's nerves; when dealing with a houseful of imperfect humans, that's just a reality. But we don't have to focus on those times! That's why I so cherish opportunities like these to make special memories with my girls.
For more creative examples of my talented hubby's self-imposed "photograph-a-day" challenge, visit his blog: 
Blueberry Cream tea for her, and Almond Cookie for me.
Kathryn doesn't like cake, so she requested a birthday apple pie instead. Candles stick in pie just as easily as they do in cake, and I enjoy making something homemade for her birthday... just one of those things I hope will be a fond memory to look back on when she's grown. 
Our main gift to Kathryn was a big-girl bicycle (partly visible in the photo above). She can ride well without training wheels now, and she has outgrown her little Dora the Explorer bike, so it was time to move to a more grown-up bike. It's hot pink with black tires and trim: girly, but not frou-frou. We'll be going shopping this evening for a bicycle basket she wants to buy with some of her birthday money.
Today we had a little tea party with a few friends. Kathryn made place cards for each girl, helped decide what to serve, and set the table herself. She provided necklaces and such for each girl so they could all be "fancy" at tea. 
After tea and treats, they all headed outside--a gaggle of barefoot little girls playing outdoors on a beautiful day. What a fabulous way to celebrate a birthday.
At first she didn't want me taking a picture of her while she was reading, but I appealed to her dramatic, sentimental side, and told her that when she's my age--and I'm much older--I will want a photo to help me remember that moment. So she humored me.
I love that we have these opportunities for some mother-daughter time that we wouldn't have if we didn't homeschool. I really treasure these times; I think she does too, and that when she's older she'll look back fondly on tea time with Mama. 
Kathryn didn't know anything about the new tea set, so I surprised her with it today by setting up our teatime lunch while she was busy writing a post for 
From left to right, there's Mom, then me, Maddie (Natasha's daughter), Angela, Dana, and Natasha. I coerced everyone into donning hats for the occasion; there are hat racks all over the tearoom with hats and boas and such to wear! Angela and Dana are both homeschooling friends - in fact, they were with us on our fun 
While we were there, Ken took the opportunity for some great flower pictures, one of which became his 
I'm always on a quest for anything cottage-garden style, and especially anything with blue or purple flowers because I just LOVE them and they're a little harder to find. There are a lot of varying shades of pink in my flower garden, too, as well as a few surprises like my one yellow rose bush, and the orange daylillies that should be blooming any day now!
We always have a good time browsing through all the neat old stuff. My mom bought a vintage cookbook, complete with the original owner's notes and recipes stashed inside. Ken found a toolbox (not old) for a great price, and we considered buying another vintage camera, but it wasn't in great shape, so we decided against it. I did, however, buy two lovely little teacups to add to my collection. I have great plans for having a fancy tea-time complete with poetry reading and/or listening to classical music as a lovely little time to look forward to during our school days. Eventually, I also want enough so that I can host a ladies' tea, but I want to have all different teacups rather than a matching set. My favorite tearoom does it that way, and I just love it! I got this one with roses on it; it's just so pretty, and I'm a sucker for roses!
I loved this next one because it's blue & white, like my china, and I thought Kathryn would love the double handles. It's actually a little soup cup, but it'll work just as well for tea!
Sunday was great too, but we were called for 
The night before, Kathryn had asked me to make her some genmai (the japanese green tea I drink EVERY day!), but it was almost bedtime when she asked, so I told her to "remind me tomorrow." A little later, she asked where my sticky notes were; she knows that I am a well-meaning but sometimes forgetful Mama unless I write it down! Also note the castle and princess adorning the note. I suppose drinking tea makes her feel a bit like royalty. {smile}
That's my girl: sitting in the slipcovered antique wingback, sipping her hot green tea from a blue & white china teacup. It wasn't til adulthood that I learned how fabulous hot tea is, but I've taught her well! Kathryn's very favorite tea is a black tea with almond bits and cinnamon called "almond cookie", and we add a bit of sugar and milk to our black teas. She told me today, as she was drinking her tea, that she would like to have tea more often - like every day. Aaah, words that makes a tea-loving mother proud.
Did you notice that my child has stolen my 
Kathryn helped me create a beautiful header photo for my blog. It includes some of my favorite things, and represents me and this blog perfectly! It captures the cottage style I love so well and it just plain looks pretty! Everything in the photo has meaning: the lovely little blue rose teacup is a recent vintage find from an antique shop we like; the teapot is bright and cheery, and makes a great pot of tea big enough to share with a friend; roses are my favorite flower, and these are all homegrown by me; the glass vase they are in belonged to my late aunt and represents to me all of my family gone on before me; the silver creamer is from an antique set that was a birthday gift from my loving husband a few years ago; the silver spoon and lace tablecloth were given to me by my mom, who knows the kinds of things I love because she is one of my best friends; the Bible, open to Proverbs 31, represents the importance of God in my life and my desire to become more like the Proverbs 31 woman; the table it all sits upon was my great-grandmother's writing desk, who, like me, also loved to write; and it's all in my backyard, where a whole lot of fun and learning happens! What you don't see here is that just beyond the view of the camera, Kathryn is swinging on the playset, and Lacy the dog is watching and whining from inside the house because I won't let her outside for fear that her exuberance will knock down the whole set up! Kathryn was in charge of placing the miniature yellow rose just the way she thought it looked best, and helped me tote everything outside. Thanks for taking time to read about it!